Man jumps into icy pond, rescues 2 women stuck on car

Feb. 4, 2014
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A car sits submerged in a pond Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014, in Springfield, Mo. Two women who say the car slid off the road into the pond were rescued from the roof of the vehicle. / Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader

by Stephen Herzog, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader

by Stephen Herzog, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Donovan Hensley had just dropped his wife off at work on the south side of Springfield on Tuesday morning when he noticed skid marks on the road leading to a nearby pond. When he looked down at the pond, he saw two young women standing on a sinking vehicle.

"There was maybe a foot of the vehicle above the water," Hensley said. "There was just sheer panic on the faces of the girls. They were screaming for help, crying, makeup running down their faces."

He started to call 911 when he realized there was no time.

He asked if there was anyone else in the car, and when the women said there wasn't, he went into the water, which was about 5 feet deep.

"I could touch the bottom. It wasn't over my head," Hensley said. "But I didn't know that before I jumped in."

When he got to the car, he said the women were hesitant at first to jump down to him.

"I told them, 'You don't have a choice,'" Hensley said.

He got them one at a time and helped them to the shore. Though there was ice on the pond, Hensley said he didn't feel the coldness of the water.

"I'm sure it was cold," he said. "I think a calmness just took over."

The accident occurred at about 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, as roads were becoming slick with falling snow. The operator of the submerged vehicle, Amy Osborn, said she was driving very carefully with a friend when her car wouldn't stop.

"I had the four-wheel drive on, and I was probably going only 15 to 20 mph," she said. "But I couldn't stop."

In the water, she said they couldn't open the doors because there was too much pressure, but Osborn and her friend were able to roll down the windows and climb up.

"I was standing on the window sill for awhile but it just kept sinking," she said.

Osborn's mother, Rhonda Wensel, called Hensley a hero.

Hensley, of Nixa, Mo., said he was just glad he was the one who noticed the sinking car.

"I grew up in the country. I fish year-round and I'm used to being in the river," he said. "You kind of know how to swim in wet jeans if that's what you have to do."

He said he got the women to his car to warm up and took them home. He then returned to the pond and called police.

Springfield police responded to the accident and confirmed no injuries were reported.